Art Degrees Online

Art Model Program

Students should refer to the model program that was in effect for the year and term of their entrance to the College.
Model Program List
Fall 2008 – Spring 2009
Fall 2007 – Spring 2008
Fall 2006 – Spring 2007
Fall 2005 – Spring 2006

The faculty reviews all art department students at the end of each semester.

The Schedule of Classes, including a complete list of electives and course descriptions, can be found via the menu on the left side of this page.

If you are passionate, disciplined and motivated in your art, Cornish is the right place for you. We’re looking for students of all ages who have the potential to succeed and grow artistically, personally and professionally in our Bachelor of Fine Art and Bachelor of Music programs. We encourage you to use our website to investigate Cornish in-depth and apply for admission. If at anytime you have questions do not hesitate to call or email the Admissions Office.

Because we are a small college of 800 students, personal contact is an important aspect of the admissions process. We recommend all applicants, if possible, visit our campus and talk with an Admissions Counselor prior to the audition or portfolio review. Your interaction with us will enable you to ask questions about our College, as well as provide you with insights about the audition/review process. The more we are able to learn about you and your artistic vision and ambition, the better we are able to provide you with the information you need to make the right educational choice for your artistic future.

Video Art Program

The Video Art Program is designed much like a film school program, with studio courses in the practical, conceptual and theoretical aspects of all time-based art, which includes video, sound design, animation, image-sequencing and compositing. Students investigate every aspect of digital video production, image acquisition, and post-production. Experimentation and conceptual originality are encouraged through rigorous assignments, projects and group critiques. within addition to the core studio classes are electives in video installation, alternative digital imaging processes, digital photography, and a survey of experimental cinema.

Sculpture Program

The Sculpture Program is a concept-based studio program driven by contemporary art theory and practices. The curriculum promotes a personalized visual inquiry that employs a wide range of material and process solutions, as well as exploring community experience. Course work includes basic skill development, experimentation, research, rigorous critique and group process. Students are asked to explore their potential by developing intelligent creative expressions that can be a dynamic part of the cultural dialogue.

Sculpture Studio course work begins in the sophomore year by building on the Foundations Program’s introduction to working in multiple dimensions. Students engage with concept-generated projects while gaining command of specific sculptural techniques and processes by mould making and multiples, wood work (including power tools), and metal processes (including welding). Sophomores also begin experimentation with a range of alternative materials and process that support current practices in contemporary art.

During the junior year, Sculpture students are introduced to concepts revolving around the decentralized object, installations, site specificity, and performance, as well as extending sculptural materials to include light, sound, motion and the environment.

The senior Sculpture Studio experience focuses on self-directed projects leading towards the BFA exhibit. Seniors engage in personalized research of sculptural concepts in support of the development of their Senior Project. Individual student tutorials and guidance are given bi-weekly in their senior studio workspace.

The Sculpture Studio also supports hybrid forms of sculpture with video, print, photo, painting and drawing.

Print Art Program

The Cornish Print Art Program is devoted to works on paper and prints and designed with a worldview. Students explore through their own images the various Western techniques in intaglio, lithography, monoprint as well as sosaku-hanga (the Japanese woodcut technique where printing is done with water-based pigments). The aim of the course of study is to expand the repertoire of visual languages available to the student, to encourage direct invention in this medium, and to foster a method of thinking artistically through the making of original prints. Students are encouraged to integrate both traditional methods and contemporary innovations in their work.

The Mary Alice Cooley Print Collection, a collection of student work accumulated over 20 years, contains over 200 original prints and reveals the quality and diversity of work produced by Cornish students. This growing collection is integral to the Print Art curriculum for study and research.

The Cornish Print Art Program was a recipient of a traditional Japanese papermaking vat, suki fune and screen from Mino City, Japan and has integrated both traditional Japanese papermaking and Western papermaking into the Program as a special topic study. Students also have access to the Print Art Studio Paper Collection for study and research.

Painting Program

The Painting Program teaches a variety of media, including oils, water-base media like acrylics, as well as mixed media and alternative formats. These paint media are taught along with the concurrent development of visual and formal skills and content, including both imagistic and abstract approaches. Within the context of this training, we provide the freedom for students to develop their individual voices with traditional or non-traditional points of view.